Leading the way once again for the Aggies will be stellar senior forward Wayne Estes.  Estes comes from tiny Anaconda Montana and was more recruited for Track and Football than basketball though he was the second leading scorer ever in that tiny town.  Former Coach Ladele Anderson had come to Anaconda to recruit ‘Crisco’(due to his large things rubbing together when he ran down the court) as a football player and shot putter but he convinced Anderson that he wanted to play basketball.  The two Montana schools did not recruit Estes (Big Mistake) and he signed up to come to Logan.  When he got to Logan, Estes had some extra baby fat on him and quickly got the nickname Baby Huey from his teammates. They soon learned the kid could flat shoot.  He soon became the main man on the Logan campus and over the course of the last three years has broken every scoring record that was in place and became not only a fan favorite but the most popular player ever to lace up the Blue and Gray.  Estes has the complete offensive game.  At six foot six 230 pounds he is strong and has the girth to power the ball inside.  He has lost some weight and become much more athletic over the course of his three years but the one thing that has not changed is his ability to shoot.  Estes might be the best jump shooter this side of French Lick and is without question the best one you don’t know about.  He worked his tail end off shooting thousands of jumpers a day back home during the summer and the work has paid off.  He is the best player in this conference.  He can truly shoot from anywhere with just about any shot.  His hooks range out to 15 feet with either hand and he knows how to use his body to get great position and knows how to come off a screen.  Baby Huey could also board and is a solid defender though was overmatched in the post by some bigger guys but that did not matter to the Aggie faithful.  Estes was their man and the love they showed their idol was consensual.  Anderson has since moved on up the road to Provo (see) but Estes has become a legend in Logan and if the national media gets a whiff of how good he really is then perhaps this is his not his last stop on the road that is paved with opponents wondering “how the heck did that guy just score 25 on us?”

The Aggies might be Wayne Estes’s team but he is not the only talented player in Logan.  There is a large group of returning upperclassmen battling to start next to Estes on the post.  Senior Big man Troy Collier showed he can handle the post position ably in his first year in Logan.  Collier is a 6’8 215 pound transfer from Phoenix JC (he was a stud there in high school as well) who showed he could be the answer down low for the Aggies last year.  He is a solid offensive low post option and plays good low post defense.  He could be counted on for production game in and game out and that is really what you are looking for in a big man.  Too bad his season ended prematurely with an injury two thirds of the way into the season.  Good thing the Aggies have depth and flexibility up front!  Fellow seniors Ariel Maughan, Larry Bunce and Alan Parrish are also in the mix for minutes and have performed well in the past.  Maughan used to be the ‘Ace’ of this team but at 6’4 190 is way over his head in the Big West with their dominant big men.  How long will Ace be around on this roster is a big question but this local kid (Hyrum Utah) really was the man here once.  Bunce is the opposite end of the spectrum as he goes 7’0 240 pounds.  He has bounced around some and this Riverside California behemoth has got that skill you cannot teach.  Size!  And unlike Ace he has that in spades!  Bunce transferred from Riverside Community College last year after some time on the Texas Western (now UTEP) freshman team.  Bunce barely played last year until Collier went down but did show he can eat up space with the best of them in those last ten games.  Whether or not he can actually score outside of a put back or dunk has yet to be seen and he is not the most mobile guy on the planet but because he is about four inches taller than anyone else on the roster he will get a chance to contribute.  Parrish is a 6’8 inside player who does help on the boards but is nowhere near Collier offensively.  Juniors Mike Santos and Jimmy Moore got their fair share of minutes on the JV team throughout the season as well.  Both can score and board down low.   Moore is a 6’7 stud from Leakesville Mississippi (yes, the Aggies do get players from outside the region) who gives Morrill some athleticism up front this team desperately needs.  He is a bit small to be guarding the Sam Laceys of the world as well but he will play somewhere.  Santos has the best shot of the three as he goes 6’8 225 and will bang down low.  This LA product has got a complete game but his best asset his being able to hang with other bigs in the paint.  He is not quite Collier but he will push the senior big man if he has recovered from his injury by November?  Sophomore Brian Jackson is also in the mix after a tremendous season on the JV.  Jackson is 6’8 210 from Palos Verdes California and can play either forward position equally well.  He led the JV in scoring and rebounding and will push for some serious minutes this year.  The battle between Collier and his challengers for a starting role should be fun to watch next preseason and probably throughout the year. 

 ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Roberts also showed quite a propensity for scoring and boarding.  He has a nice touch for a big man (6’8 200) and really makes other big men guard him.  He can go to the hole or post up or hit jumpers.  This kid is also a gifted rebounder, probably the best on the team, and can guard other big men with his athleticism.  Roberts is also a gifted passer for a big man and does not mind doing the little things it takes to win.  This Renaissance man was recruited out of Brooklyn and might be better suited to play the four (or even the three) but understands this team has a true power forward and he does what he has to help out in the paint.  Roberts did not start a game last year but he averaged over 20 minutes off the bench and was hugely productive in whatever role Morrill had him doing that night.  He might not be on par with Estes to Aggies fans but he is dang close.  This charismatic senior stud has a bright future in front of him as he can do just about whatever he wants on the basketball court and off but for this year he might be asked to be the starting center especially if Collier is not ready.     

Seniors Cornell Green and Shaler Halimon handled the wing positions in different styles.  Green is a bulldog who loves to mix it up inside even if he is limited in his size (6’4 205).  Green is a tremendous defender and solid on the boards.  He almost had a football mentality he is so physical guarding players and has no problem matching up with anyone one on one.  This Oklahoma City kid does not really have guard skills except defensively but Halimon makes up for that as even at 6’5 the kid can pass. Halimon is an up and down the court player who can distribute the ball as well as score.  Halimon was a transfer student and missed some games but he became an integral part of the team with his scoring and passing.  He got the first triple double in Utah State history against New Mexico State late last year.  Halimon may be the most complete player on the team but never really got the minutes he needed to excel early on.  He took off down the stretch becoming a huge part of this team’s offense (and defense) down the stretch.  Halimon has the perfect pro style game but needs to become more consistent and tougher.  The much traveled Halimon was born in Tampa went to high school in Michigan and then went to Junior College in California (Green was also in California when Anderson was recruiting him for football and saw Halimon as well).  Halimon is so multidimensional that he played some games at point as this was by far the Aggies weakest position.  Halimon is arguably the best passer on the team. Halimon does not mind the route he has to take to succeed as long as he gets to drive the bus down the road.  

A player that really stepped up last year was Junior swing man Nate Williams.  Williams excelled after he was actually demoted to the bench after Halimon took off. Williams took up the role of supreme sixth man for the Aggies.  Williams can hit the open shot and plays good solid defense.  He is also a tremendous athlete and has every chance to play at the next level.  There are rumors that he might want to leave early for the NBA as this Louisiana kid has some hardship and people to take care of back home. He showed in his limited time off the bench that he was ready for prime time as Anderson’s philosophy of recruiting kids from everywhere and any background (unlike some of their brethren up the roads) has proved to be beneficial for this program and the diversity of this college town.  

The guard situation in Aggieland is perplexing at best.  Coach Morrill uses a posse of different players trying to get the job done.  Senior Max Perry starts the year as the incumbent at point but is not up to par in this athletic conference and really is more of a scorer.  Fellow seniors Pat Dunn and Hal Hale are also in the mix to run the team and are better distributors than Perry.  Dunn is a 6’2 170 pounder from Chicago that has a little showboat but is the best of the seniors at least as a going guard.  Hale is 6’1 and solid but not the most dynamic cat you ever met.  Junior Oscar Williams is the best passer on the team and can run a team but does not bring any scoring to the table.  Sophomore Kevin Nixon will also got his chance and played well on the JV last year.  Seniors Bert Cook and LeRoy Walker split time last year at the two hole when Williams or Halimon weren’t dropping down to the backcourt.  Cook is a 6’3 185 local hero from up the road Weber County.  Cook was the main man here not so long ago but his inability to guard other twos has set him back.  He is solid offensively though his range could increase beyond the line. Walker is much smaller at 6’0 165 but makes up for it with tremendous athleticism.  He transferred in from a California Juco (this team loves recruiting JC kids in the Golden State) and immediately impressed with his ability to go inside and hang with the trees.  He is a good defender who can score but his height does limit him against bigger wings.  Morrill tried just about everybody trying to find the right tandem and this may have been as big of a reason as any as the Aggies did not take the next step of getting to the promised land of the Big Dance.  They obviously have enough talent everywhere else.  

The Utah State Aggies do not get near the attention of their Big West brothers from Sin City.  As a matter of fact unless you are a fan of this underrated conference you probably do not even know this long proud program even exists.  Too bad because they play good basketball in Logan (Utah) and Coach Stew Morrill has continued the tradition of having highly competitive teams.  Former Coach Ladele Anderson saw greener grass (and more recognition) up the road in Provo and left Morrill to run this show.  Morrill has not changed the philosophy much as he still finds players from everywhere (especially the Juco route) to come play in this small, Mormon town near both the Idaho and Wyoming borders.  Morrill does not want to go through what his team did last year by not making the postseason even after the Aggies finished in a tie for 2nd in the Big West.  If he can find a dynamic point guard these Aggies aim to ‘make sure’ they are picked for the 2nd season by winning often.  And we are talking 24+ wins!  That is asking a lot but this program has the players to get this done.  At least at three positions! At one of these three they also have the most unknown superstar in D-1.  Senior Wayne Estes has been putting up numbers reminiscent of that redneck from French Lick but nobody outside the Rocky Mountains have heard of him.  Too bad because Baby Huey is the real deal.  And then some.